Nottingham students tackle skill shortages in the construction industry

A team of three NTU undergraduate students won a Dragon's Den competition by creating a video and social media campaign to inspire young people to pursue a career in property.

A team of three NTU undergraduate students won a Dragon’s Den competition by creating a video and social media campaign to inspire young people to pursue a career in property.

Team Ignite, comprising of Julian Daley, Ed Barton (both property development and planning students) and Eva Kuricova (business and economic student), produced a three minute video showing a young woman’s journey pursuing a career in property after initially having no idea what she wanted to do.

Eva, 24, said: "It's not something you'd do each day at university so it was interesting to take part and I definitely learnt more about the industry."

The Be Inspired competition was run in conjunction with the Construction Industry Council (CIC), which wanted to find new ways to encourage young people to pursue careers in the industry.

Ed, 21, added: "I don't think it's because people don't want to go into the industry – I just think there's a lack of awareness of the range of careers involved”.

The skills shortage was highlighted in a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) last year in which 53% of firms questioned said they had difficulty sourcing labour.

About 35 students took part in the Be Inspired project, which was backed by companies including commercial property agents Innes England.

Nottingham students tackle skill shortages in the construction industry

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